Chris Wilson

PRO MMA (promma.info) has learned from multiple sources that Houston “The Assassin” Alexander (8-4) has pulled out of his UFC 98 bout with Andre Gusmao (5-1) due to a broken hand suffered in training.

Alexander joins three other fighters, James Irvin, Josh Koshcheck and Yushin Okami, who have also pulled out of the card due to injury. Gusmao is still on the card and Krztsztof Soszynski has been confirmed as the replacement for Alexander.

Alexander was in dire need of a win after losing three straight fights to James Irvin, Thiago Silva and Eric Schafer. Alexander shocked everyone by knocking out top ten fighter Keith Jardine in the first round of his Octagon debut at UFC 71. He followed that up with another first round destruction of Alessio Sakara at UFC 75.

UFC 94: ST. PIERRE vs PENN 2 takes place tonight, Jan. 31, 2009, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV. B.J. Penn, the UFC Lightweight Champion, has moved up to welterweight to try and grab a second title to add to his collection from Georges St. Pierre.